MIRAMSHAH, Aug 10: At least 18 suspected militants were killed and six others injured when a US drone fired two missiles at a compound in Kharonai village near Miramshah in North Waziristan on Wednesday.

According to a foreign news agency, 21 people were killed in the pre-dawn attack.

Sources said the compound belonged to the Sirajuddin Haqqani group and those killed were Afghan nationals and local tribesmen. A car and a motorcycle parked in the courtyard were destroyed.

According to witnesses, “unknown volunteers” cordoned off the area soon after the attack and retrieved the bodies and the injured from the debris. They took the injured to an unspecified hospital.

Reuters adds: The attack came just days after Pakistan called for “clear terms of engagement” in the US-Pakistan relationship. Among those targeted were members of the Haqqani network responsible for the worsening insurgency in eastern Afghanistan, and foreign militants.

“The dead included local Taliban as well as some Arabs and Uzbek nationals,” an intelligence official said.

It was the largest strike since July 12, when US drones killed 48 suspected militants in North Waziristan.

Drone strikes have been a major source of friction between the United States and Pakistan, with ties at their worst since US Special Forces killed Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in a secret raid in the garrison town of Abbottabad in May.

Last week, President Asif Ali Zardari called for “clear terms of engagement” between the two countries in the fight against Al Qaeda and Taliban militants operating in the country. He did not spell out the terms of engagement, but they likely involve more consultation on drone strikes as well as greater oversight of CIA activities in Pakistan, military experts said.

While Pakistan in the past was seen to have given tacit support to the drone campaign in its militant-infested northwest region, the red lines appeared to have been crossed with the Abbottabad raid.

Some Afghan insurgents belonging to the Haqqani network fighting US-led foreign forces in Afghanistan were among the dead in Wednesday’s strike, the intelligence official said.

It was not immediately known if any high-profile militants were among the dead. Militants often dispute official account of such strikes.

Initial reports said five militants were killed in the attack, but officials said the toll had gone up to 21 after more bodies were found from the rubble of the compound.

The latest strike took the death toll of suspected militants in such attacks since the beginning of June to more than 160.

Opinion

Editorial

Smog hazard
Updated 05 Nov, 2024

Smog hazard

The catastrophe unfolding in Lahore is a product of authorities’ repeated failure to recognise environmental impact of rapid urbanisation.
Monetary policy
05 Nov, 2024

Monetary policy

IN an aggressive move, the State Bank on Monday reduced its key policy rate by a hefty 250bps to 15pc. This is the...
Cultural power
05 Nov, 2024

Cultural power

AS vital modes of communication, art and culture have the power to overcome social and international barriers....
Disregarding CCI
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Disregarding CCI

The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart.
Defeating TB
04 Nov, 2024

Defeating TB

CONSIDERING the fact that Pakistan has the fifth highest burden of tuberculosis in the world as per the World Health...
Ceasefire charade
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Ceasefire charade

The US talks of peace, while simultaneously arming and funding their Israeli allies, are doomed to fail, and are little more than a charade.